County’s Median House Price Rises 2.8%, to $237,114
The median price on the resale of a single-family home in Orange County increased 2.8% in December, to reach a record $237,114, the California Assn. of Realtors reported Monday.
Sales, however, fell 12.8% from November’s total. “That is a normal seasonal decrease,” said Joel Singer, chief economist for the association. “In December, people don’t want major changes in their lives, particularly because of the holiday season.”
Some real estate agents speculated that December’s record price, up 32% from a year ago, may have been skewed by a slowdown in sales of moderate-to-lower-price houses, caused by higher interest rates.
‘Affluent Buyer’ Is Remaining in the Market
Michael Meyer, managing partner of Kenneth Leventhal & Co., an accounting concern in Newport Beach, said: “I think that with higher interest rates and the overall increases in the prices of houses in Orange County, a lot of the movement is in higher-priced homes, which pushes up the median price. More and more, it’s the affluent buyer who is remaining in the market.”
But the main reason for the increase in price, experts said, is elementary: Demand for housing in the county continues to exceed supply. “The inventory of available homes is exceedingly low,” Singer said.
Consequently, December’s median price broke the September record of $234,934.
The state’s median price dipped in December, the first time that has happened since November, 1987. December’s median price was $172,405, a 2.9% drop from November’s median price of $177,485.
Singer attributed the decrease in large part to lower prices for two- and three-bedroom homes in California’s inland areas.
Results Differ From TRW Information
The association’s December results differ from those reported by TRW Real Estate Market Information earlier this month.
TRW said that the number of homes and condominiums sold in the county rose in December by 2.6% and that the average price of those residences was a record $219,744.
The TRW statistics differ from the association’s because TRW’s study includes sales of new homes and condominiums. The association’s results apply only to existing single-family, detached homes.
MEDIAN HOME PRICES IN AREAS OF STATE
% Change % from Region Dec. 1988 Dec. 1987 Increase Nov. 88 Orange County $237,114 $179,651 32.0 2.8 Los Angeles $189,545 $153,308 23.6 -1.2 San Francisco $229,772 $175,063 31.3 1.9 San Diego $156,666 $134,032 16.9 -1.8 Sacramento $98,082 $89,058 10.1 4.2 Riverside/San Bernardino $113,864 $98,450 15.7 1.3 Ventura $234,821 $170,982 37.3 1.1 California Average $172,405 $145,224 18.7 -2.9
Source: California Assn. of Realtors
